Need me to bring anything over? Maybe we can watch a movie or TV show? The new episode of The Challenge is on tonight!
Wren
I do love seeing CT on my screen… but stay in tonight, you probably had a busy day!
Are you sure?
Wren
Positive. I promise I’m okay. :)
When I getto the door I fumble with my keys, accidentally dropping them at my feet. Next to them, just off to the side of my front door, I notice a box with my name on it in my mother’s handwriting.
She’s been at work all day, when did she stop by?
I must have missed it in my tired haze when I left this morning. She didn’t say she was dropping off anything or mention she found anything of mine when I saw her at work… weird.
I spin and check to make sure her car isn’t in her driveway—we’re neighbors—and it’s not there, so she’s definitely still at work.
When my grandma passed she left her home and the guest house to my mom and I. My mom has taken over the big house while I stayed here in the guest house.
It was definitely a shift not living with my mom since all I’ve ever known is being by her side, but I enjoy the independence, even if only a couple hundred feet away.
I stop myself from thinking abouthowthe box got here and kneel to pick it up. Leveling it on my hip, I use my free hand to open the door, the smell of mango still fragrant from the candle I was burning earlier. One thing I love about living alone is I can decorate my space exactly how I want it. I can light all the candles, open all the curtains.
I’d love to be a minimalist and mysterious but to my core, I will always and forever be a maximalist. I love collecting knick knacks. Not everything needs to have a special meaning as long as my home feels like a home.
I take off my shoes and lock the door behind me. Heading to my dining room table I sit down, opening up the box. Inside I see journals, photos and yearbooks. I quickly discover there’s a bunch of my stuff from high school filled to the top.
I crack a smile when I see a photo of me and Wren in a badly painted frame with all sorts of glitter glued onto it.
This would be fun to go through with Wren…
Reaching for my phone in my pocket, I swipe open the screen and open my text thread with Wren. I send her a quick message asking if we can have a girls day this week, which she responds quickly to with a yes.
Closing up the cardboard top, I take the rest of the afternoon to myself. Nothing a book and warm blankets on the couch can’t fix.
The second I’m comfortable though, my mind wanders back to the diner and the napkin I stored in my nightstand.
Ten numbers written down just for me.
A person on the other side of those ten numbers that I want to know more about.
5
HENRY
Miles lives about a five minute drive from downtown Ruby Lake but you’d think there was no civilization around here with how much land and trees surround his home.
As we pull up to the house, I’m amazed with what he’s done to what was once just acres of land.
He bought the property from an older woman who was moving out of state and didn’t want to deal with it anymore. Her loss because with the time and effort Miles has put into fixing up the place and building a home, it looks straight out of a dream. To save time and money, Miles bought a manufactured home and used the rest of his funds to put into the Inn.
He has a porch in the front with a swinging bench as well as some planters with flowers in them. I didn’t take him for the gardener type.
But that's just Miles. When he sets his mind to something, he teaches himself until he's a self proclaimed expert at it. His determination to make it happen is something I've always admired about him.
“Miles, this is incredible.” I hop out of the car and take in the scenery. Last summer he sent me photos of the driveway he wascementing and seeing it all come to life in person is impressive. He’s done so much, but knowing Miles, there’s still so much more he will do. The job is never fully done with him.
